Queen Bitch of the Callowwood Pack (Siren Publishing Classic) (20 page)

“Great, then dinner it is,” he replied instead, smiling and hoping it didn’t look strained. “I’ll pick you up about seven o’clock and we’ll go to—”

“The Sawmill?”

“Better not. One of the other candidate’s family owns that restaurant, and it’d be awkward for them to see us together. It’s best to keep the meetings discreet even if everyone knows they’re happening.”

“Right, sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” She flipped her ponytail with her hand again. “Where would you rather go?”

“How about to Wipple? I know a fairly decent restaurant there that’s good.”

“What, the Sonic isn’t really your style?”

Jeff snorted derisively. “Much as I like burgers, Sonic just doesn’t say commitment to me. It says something more like ‘I’m a pimple-faced geek who wants to show off his high school girlfriend everyone said he’d never get’. I’m a little too old for that.”

She laughed, and he felt his cock harden again.
Damn, I’m gonna have blue balls for a week!
He loved to hear her laugh, and he couldn’t wait to make her do it again.

“Okay, Wipple it is, then. Casual or fancy?”

“Casual,” he said promptly, hoping she’d keep on the clothes she wore now.

“Okay.”

She seemed to be working up to say good-bye until the evening. Desperate to spend more time with her, he blurted, “So where are you going now?”

“I was going back home. Why?”

“Can I walk you?”

Julianna snorted with humor. “It’s not like it’s dark or far. I think I can make it. Besides, aren’t you at work?”

Jeff shrugged one shoulder. “They can keep the place together for a few minutes without me.” He winked at her. “You said it’s not far.”

She laughed. “Okay, Jeff, you can walk me home. Are you sure you aren’t a pimple-faced geek with his high school girlfriend?”

“I won’t tell if you don’t,” he retorted as he fell in beside her, and she grinned. “So, where have you been for the last two weeks? I haven’t seen you around town at all.”

“I’ve been hanging out with Sebrina. She’s been teaching me about…”

Her voice trailed off, and she turned her head to scan the street ahead. He scented her uncertainty and wished he could reassure her. About what, he didn’t know, but he’d move heaven and earth to settle any fears she had.

“She’s been filling me in on the events within Callowwood for the years I’ve been gone. She’s had some pretty interesting stories.”

Jeff snorted. “I bet. I’m probably in most of them.”

Julianna looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Not in the ones she’s been telling me. Is there something I should know about you, Jeff?”

He widened his eyes in mock fear and put up his hands. “Oh no! No, no. Nothing you need to know.”

“Right.”

She matched his grin, but it soon faded as she fell back into the thoughtful silence he’d interrupted when he caught her on the street. He could tell her mind was on something, but she didn’t wear her thoughts on her sleeve. He frantically searched for something to say to keep the conversation from stagnating.

“So, have you been working since you’ve come home?”

Yeah, okay, not the best line, but it was all Jeff could come up with on short notice.

“Hmm? Oh, no, but I’ve been thinking about getting a job to help Mom out with the property taxes.”

“A job? What kind of job?”

“I was hoping to find some place with a managerial position available,” Julianna mused with a shrug. “I might as well use the things I learned while in Reno and Fresno to keep Mom and me afloat.”

“I think I might be able to help you with that,” he heard himself say, though he had no idea where it came from.

“You do?”

“Yeah, I just happen to have a bar that needs a good manager.”

She eyed him for a moment. “Isn’t that what your job is?”

“No, I’m the owner.”
Who
is
this guy using my voice?
“I oversee payroll and ordering, maintenance, and security. I need a good manager who can oversee scheduling the wait staff, bartenders, and bouncers, and make decisions on the floor when I’m not available.”
Whoever he is, the guy sounds really confident.

Julianna bit her bottom lip while she considered Jeff’s suggestion as they walked. He desperately wished she was biting
his
bottom lip in passionate lovemaking.

“Are you serious or are you just teasing me? I don’t want to come in for a job that belongs to someone else and find out I’m kicking them to the curb. Is this job for real or something you just made up on the fly?”

How to answer that one honestly?
In truth, Jeff
had
been thinking of hiring someone to take over some of the duties bogging him down. He got less and less done at the bar with all the other odd jobs cropping up. Maintenance was a big one. But he’d forgotten about it in all the commotion over the Luna candidacy. Now the idea seemed a great one when Julianna mentioned looking for a job in a managerial capacity.

“I don’t have a manager right now,” he admitted, “but I’ve been thinking about hiring one because there’s so much to do and I can’t be everywhere at once. I could really use the help. So the job
is
made up on the fly right now, but I
do
need someone to fill the position. You think you might be interested?”

“I’m interested if it’s real,” she agreed slowly, nodding. “Should I send you my resume and other credentials so you can make it official without it looking like you’re just trying to get into my pants?”

Incredulity slid through him.
Did she really just say that?

Be honest, you
do
want to get into her pants,
his Brother quipped.

Yeah, but that’s not why I offered her the job.

Oh yeah, why then?

To keep her close and see her every day without making it obvious that I’m favoring her over the others.

“Wow, you don’t pussyfoot around, do you?”

“Never found a reason to do so.”

He laughed. “Yes, send me your resume. It’ll help me preserve my reputation as a fair and objective employer.”

She laughed again, and his heart swelled in his chest.
Goddess above, I can listen to that forever
! And he would, once she’d passed all the Luna tests, but damn, he didn’t want to wait. The sunlight danced over her body, highlighting the curves and hollows exposed by her clothes. The delicate shadow between her breasts called to him, urging him to press his nose to the soft flesh.

He cleared his throat. “In fact, why don’t you bring it by in about an hour and I can get you familiar with the way the place runs.”

“An hour.”

“Yeah.”

They stopped at the corner of her street, and everything inside him protested at letting her go on alone. Her scent teased his nose, taunting him to walk her all the way home, inside her door, to tuck her into bed.

“I’ll see you in an hour.” She held out her hand to him, and he grasped it, fighting the urge to drag her into his arms and kiss the hell out of her.

“And for dinner. Pick you up at seven tonight.”

“Yes, dinner, too. I look forward to it.”

“Me, too.”
Man, do I look forward to it.

“Good.” She retrieved her palm as if reluctant to let go, but she smiled her brilliant smile and sauntered away, her ass twitching in those tight denim capris. His cock rose to attention in salute.

Down, boy! You have to be a gentleman tonight.

Only on the outside,
his Brother remarked smugly.

Shit, he was in
so
much trouble. Why the hell had he offered her a job in
his
bar? He’d see her all the time, and he wouldn’t be able to touch her! Man, he was so fucked! Despite his penchant for blue balls, Jeff turned to walk back to the bar with an ear-to-ear grin that just wouldn’t quit.

* * * *

Julianna’s day had passed in a blur of activity, and she sifted through the memories while she stood on her front balcony with her heart in her throat. She could hear the engine of Jeff’s Camaro bringing the sexiest man she’d ever met closer to her home. Her nipples hardened with the thought of him taking her out, and she rubbed them unconsciously. She’d stopped by her mom’s house after Jeff left and told her all about the new job and the date. Beth had been thrilled for her, more about the date than the job, but she’d wished Julianna good luck. Julianna grinned for the millionth time, thinking about her visit to Jeff’s bar earlier that day.

He’d introduced her to Zach Bushman and Kyle Howler, his two best friends who worked as Jeff’s “right-hand men” at the bar and behind it. Through her new partnership with her Sister, Julianna could tell both were betas, but she sensed given their own place or a little more age and experience, they’d be alphas. Kyle helped with supplies and Zach was head bouncer and day bartender. Both of them treated her with respect and deference when Jeff introduced her as the next staff manager. She’d initially been shy, uncertain of her reception from Jeff’s oldest friends but soon realized wolves didn’t appreciate shyness. Instead, she projected confident authority as they showed her around the bar. The result was immediate respect and probationary loyalty.

Julianna met the waitstaff, a collection of betas and omegas ranging in age from twenty to “forty-five”, and mostly women. Sebrina’s remark about Jeff’s age was confirmed by Kyle’s uncle Gary, the oldest barkeep in the Den, still cracking at “eighty-eight”, who didn’t look older than forty-five.

The females had watched her without emotion or welcome, but Julianna didn’t sense outright hostility. Everyone understood she was on probation until she’d proven she could do the job. No one made any remarks suggesting the only reason she’d been offered this job was because Jeff wanted her more than the other candidates, but she saw it in the eyes of the bouncers, all betas strong and loyal to Jeff. Still, they were respectful and just willing enough to give her a chance. Julianna knew she’d have to earn her place.

I hope that doesn’t take too long. If I’m gonna be Luna, I suppose this is a good place to show my leadership skills.

About time you got around to accepting your place.

Julianna sighed and shifted her weight in her heels as she leaned against the railing. Passion and arousal zipped through her as her thoughts returned to Jeff.
He is finally taking me out on a date. Sheesh, only took eighteen years! God, I’m as jittery as a teenager.
She hoped she didn’t do anything really stupid tonight, like drop her drink on herself or snort when she laughed. That would ruin the image of a confident Luna candidate in a hurry.

Fidgeting with the tasseled ends of her paisley-patterned silk wrap, Julianna kept her eyes trained on the road beyond the driveway. Would Jeff like what she wore? Did she look the proper mix of demure and hot? She was certainly sweating. She’d pulled her hair up into a French twist and worn actual makeup in hopes of knocking his socks off.

If he didn’t knock hers off first.

He drove up in that sleek black Camaro and the growling engine matched the throbbing rhythm soaking her panties with liquid excitement. Her nipples hardened again, and she held her arms still to keep from rubbing them. Her heart skipped a beat as Jeff pulled up and stepped out of the car. Her heart thundered in her chest, and her breath completely stopped.

Jeff had chosen to wear a pair of long khaki shorts made by Dockers hugging his hips. An olive-green button-up short-sleeved shirt with a large leaf print on it in shades of tan and cream fell over his hips, just covering his groin. He wore no jacket, but she thought she could see one in the car. Leather sandals covered his sexy feet and she tried not to stare at his legs too long. They were muscular and tanned, the dark hair marking each dip and hollow of his masculine strength. He was built like an athlete in his prime, the muscles hard and robust. She shivered at the idea of running her hands over all that exposed skin.

“Wow,” Jeff breathed, jerking her back to the present. “You’re beautiful.”

Her laugh broke free with delighted abandon as her insides warmed to his compliment.

“Thank you. So are you.”

“Thanks.”

His eyes flared with intense interest as she descended the steps. “No one will see me tonight, though. Everyone will be looking at you. Including me.”

Julianna laughed again. He made her giddy.

Jeff strode around the front of the car and opened the passenger door for her, his assessing gaze taking in every detail of her outfit. Before she could slide into the cool, dark interior, he caught her right hand with the token dangling from it and kissed the inside of her wrist, sending a frisson of electricity zinging up her arm. She gasped involuntarily as his green-gold eyes watched her intently, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth despite his kiss.

“Is that how you greet all the candidates for Luna?” she whispered.

“No.” He flipped her hand over. “
This
is how I greet the others.” Then he laid another soft, sensuous kiss on the back of her hand near her knuckles.